A review by secre
The Truth About Keeping Secrets by Savannah Brown

challenging emotional inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

This is one of those books that is beautifully written, thought provoking and haunting. It heavily focuses in on how grief affects different people and the different coping mechanisms everybody has to find their way through it. At the same time it touches on common YA themes such as sexual orientation, bullying, and unhealthy coping strategies. It's raw and poignant and caught my attention from the very first pages.

It's billed as a high school thriller, but I honestly don't think it is. There is a mystery of sorts, but it's less about the mystery and more about the exploration of grief, of relationships and of finding a new place in the world when everything you thought you had crumbles around you. If you go in expecting a thriller, you may well be disappointed. But if you take it for what it is, you will find a stunning and beautifully written piece.

Losing a parent is ground shattering at any age. Losing a parent as a teenager is world altering, as Sydney is finding out. One freak accident and her dad is gone. Her world will never be the same again and yet her friends lives go on unchanged. The world keeps moving and yet she is standing still. Her hyper-fixation on solving the mystery of her dad's death is more of a symptom of her own state of mind than anything else.

This is a powerful and compelling novel that strikes deep at the fear, the loss, the anxiety and the uncertainty surrounding death and grief. It's one of those books that will stay with me for a long time to come, I suspect. 
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